R.I. OKs DREAM Act

Rhode Island is set to become the latest state to allow undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities, an issue that has been paid increasing attention by Republican presidential candidates.

An education board in Rhode Island voted unanimously Monday evening to enact the measure. The measure would cut the cost of higher education for undocumented immigrants substantially — in-state tuition is currently $9,824, compared with $25,912 for out-of-state students, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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The measure was supported by independent Gov. Lincoln Chaffee. “This policy change will improve the intellectual and culture life of Rhode Island while strengthening our workforce and helping our economy,” Chafee wrote in a letter to the education board on Sunday.

The issue cuts to the heart of one of the more contentious debates in the 2012 Republican presidential nomination race. Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed similar legislation into law in 2001.

Perry has stood behind that decision even as his opponents have seized on it as an issue that could weaken his standing among conservative primary voters.

“I don’t think you have a heart,” Perry said to those who would oppose his stance at a presidential debate last Thursday, to audience boos. “We need to be educating these children because they will become a drag on our society.”

Rhode Island joins at least 11 other states that have enacted similar provisions to ease the burden on illegal immigrants who wish to attend college, including California, Texas, Illinois, Connecticut, Maryland, Kansas, New Mexico, Nebraska, New York, Utah and Washington.

President Obama has been an ardent supporter of a federal DREAM Act, which would provide temporary residency status for undocumented immigrants who were brought into the United States as children but were willing to enroll in higher education or join the military. The DREAM Act passed the House in December 2010, but failed to reach the 60-vote supermajority necessary to reach the Senate floor before the end of the 111th Congress.